1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to systems and techniques for distinguishing between authorized and unauthorized individuals and, more particularly, to the distribution and presentation of articles having visible indicia thereon to establish the authorized status of individuals seeking access to an area or event.
2. Discussion of the Background Art
There are many situations where it is necessary to distinguish between those individuals with permission to enter a particular area or building. Where the number of individuals to be recognized is relatively small, the turnover among them is low, and the security workforce stable, it may be possible to rely solely on recognition of each individual based on their physical appearance (i.e., “by sight”). Where the number of individuals having authority to enter secure areas and/or facilities is too large or is subject to a higher rate of turnover, or where the security staff itself is subject to turnover, however, it is not feasible to rely upon recognizing individuals by sight alone. It has therefore become commonplace to rely upon such identification systems as wearable badges in conjunction with a method of uniquely associating each badge with the individual wearing it. Frequently, the method for associating the badge with the individual wearing it includes a photograph, a signature, a fingerprint, an RFID tag, or even some combination of these. Specially designed doors equipped to admit only one person at a time, and only upon recognition of an appropriate code (whether by keypad entry, passive RFID detection, biometric scanning, etc.) are also commonplace.
While the aforementioned identification systems are now ubiquitous in the workplace, there are certain limitations which make them unsuitable for certain situations such, for example, as where one or more groups of individuals have only a transient need to enter a specific building, facility, or area thereof. By way of illustration, a professional football team may play eighteen games, with half of these being at a local or “home” stadium and the other half of the games being “away games” played at the home stadium of an adversary. A professional baseball team may play almost ten times as many games as a football team, but with a similar distribution of local and away games. In each of these cases, there are team members, supporting staff and other employees that all require a way of documenting their authority to enter a stadium on the day of an event (whether it be a practice session, a pre-season game, a regular season game, or a post season game). A musician or band may play at a large number of venues during a single tour, while a movie or television show may require filming at a number of different locations, with a concert or filming session at each discrete location also constituting an “event”.
In all of the foregoing situations, it has been customary to issue individuals who are authorized to be present at an event—whether they are attending as a member of the audience or in a supporting capacity—a discrete, temporary printed admission pass good only for the day of the event, after which it is to be discarded and cannot be used for admission to a subsequent event. The printed passes are expensive to produce, and each must be distributed to every authorized individual at some point prior to the applicable event(s). As the number of individuals with a need or desire to be present at multiple events grows, the cost and inefficiency of the approach quickly becomes apparent. While it would be possible to print and distribute a multiple use pass, the risk of unauthorized duplication and/or use, already quite high, increases dramatically.
A need therefore exists for a credential management system which obviates the need to design, produce and distribute one-time printed passes to individuals authorized to be present at an event such, for example, as cast members, stage crew, security details and staff, important guests, performers, players, officials and many others.
A further need exists for a credential management system which minimizes the risks of unauthorized use or duplication.
Still another need exists for a credential management system having an optional location tracking capability whereby the whereabouts of each person to whom a reusable pass is issued can be remotely monitored during an event.